OPENING UP THE PUNJAB

One group of more than twenty Punjabi-speaking Witnesses come from small towns and villages scattered over a wide area. Since Pakistan is largely an agricultural country, the greater part of the population live in villages where the houses are made of mud and there are no proper roads to reach them. In this area, due to transport problems and a six-day workweek, Jehovah’s Witnesses hold all their meetings at their little Kingdom Hall on the one holiday of the week. It has not been easy for these Witnesses to advance spiritually.

The Punjab (meaning “Five Rivers”) is the most productive agricultural area of the country. Wheat, rice, sugarcane and cotton are some of the main crops. This is also the most densely populated province, and the branch office of the Watch Tower Society in Pakistan is located in its capital city, Lahore. Situated just a few miles from the Indian border, Lahore is a very old city known for its ancient monuments, universities and colleges. Among the almost two and a half million inhabitants there are fifty-five proclaimers of the good news of the kingdom of God. Several of these, although well acquainted with the message that Jehovah’s Witnesses preached for many years previously, have only very recently become dedicated, baptized members of the congregation, the worsening world conditions in the 1970’s causing them, in some cases, to think seriously about acting on what they had once learned, as in the following instance:

A lady began studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses about 1955. She liked what she learned and always prepared for the study. Occasionally she attended meetings despite her husband’s efforts to dissuade her. However, although she spoke to others and read the text each day to nominal Christian girls where she worked, it appeared that she was still connected with the church. Her husband fostered this thought. Over the years various Witnesses studied with her but finally discontinued this, just calling from time to time, as she enjoyed reading every new publication of the Society. Surprisingly, one day she asked if she could be baptized as she felt that she had waited long enough to become a Witness. It was then learned that she hadn’t attended church for the past ten years. So the study was resumed and she started attending meetings regularly, becoming a dedicated, baptized Witness in November 1976. Although elderly now, she spends a lot of time witnessing and conducts Bible studies with others.